A gyratory crusher of the kind stated above can be used for crushing, for example, ore and rock material into smaller size. A problem associated with gyratory crushers of this kind is that during an interruption in the supply of feed material to the crusher the crushing head will start to rotate, after only a short while, at the same high speed as the eccentric, which is generally referred to as spinning. If the crushing head is spinning when feed material is again introduced into the gyratory crusher, there is a risk that material will be ejected from the crusher and/or that the crushing shells will be damaged. Another problem is that the service life of the crusher bearings can be shortened should spinning of the crushing head occur frequently.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,255 discloses a gyratory crusher. The head of the crusher is provided with a one-way clutch to inhibit spinning and a friction torque limiting clutch to protect the one-way clutch against excessive loads.
There is sometimes a need for a gyratory crusher of lower height, since a tall crusher takes up more space and its feed opening for the input of material to be crushed is located higher up than in a crusher of low height.